News

Dr Becky Inkster, Public Engagement with Research Award winner 2016

Dr Becky Inkster is a research associate in the Department of Psychiatry and a senior project manager for the Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network. Her public engagement work explores the intersection of art and science through the prism of mental health research. Dr Inkster has successfully collaborated with The Scarabeus Theatre in a performance called Depths of My Mind and founded the website HipHopPsych, showcasing the latest psychiatry research through hip hop lyrics. Her approach has allowed her to engage with hard-to-reach teenage audiences, encouraging them to reflect on their own mental health. Beyond this work she has explored the use of social media to diagnose mental illness, and has gathered patient perspectives on ethics, privacy and data sharing in preparation for research publication. Through utilising the strengths of public engagement Dr Inkster has been able to refine her research questions and develop hypotheses using a broad multi-disciplinary framework.

Becky received one of our inaugural Public Engagement with Research Awards last year in a presentation by the Vice-Chancellor. This film was made to commemorate her approach and commitment to engaging the public with her research, and to capture the benefits she has reaped in return.